Editor's note: The pictures in this article were taken while demonstrating the new voting system. The final ballot used on election day is expected to be slightly different, but the voting process will be the same. Connor Wall, the author of this report and the deputy editor of RCN, worked as a poll worker during the local elections.

On Thursday morning, Camden County Clerk Gabrielle Summe showed the county's new voting machine to experienced voting staff. These machines are expected to make their debut in the 2022 primary elections.

"Before the pandemic and any federal funding, we knew that our voting equipment was aging, and we needed to get new equipment," Sam said. "In the process of achieving this goal, we started looking for two large companies that were certified by the federal government and then also certified by Kentucky. That is Hart and ES&S."

Kenton County is using the ES&S system, while Campbell and Boone counties are using Hart County. 

One of the most significant changes in the way voters in Camden County voted is the cessation of electronic polls: large, gray, and fully digital voting machines. Summe has transformed the voting process to provide a more complete paper record of each vote. 

“When we review everything, the one thing we are looking for is not only to make voters feel relaxed, but also to easily explain this to people who work on election day and voting staff,” Sam continued. 

Instead of electronic voting, voters will receive paper ballots or thin pieces of paper similar to receipts. The new ExpressVote machine can use this paper, which has a touch screen on which citizens can vote. After completing the ballot, the ExpressVote machine will print the voter's completed ballot, and then deposit the ballot into the upgraded but familiar Big Black Ballot Collector. 

Compared with the outdated electronic voting, ExpressVote has many improvements. Particularly noteworthy is its lightweight design and simple setup procedure, which Summe said was a deliberate choice to reduce the burden on the usually older voting staff who are responsible for setting up the machine on election day. 

Photo: Sample of new ballot type

Photo: New ExpressVote machine

Photo: A familiar black ballot collector after the upgrade

"This is a cleaner and simpler way. People are very accustomed to touch screens, and I think they will continue to use them, so this is a lovely upgrade," Summe said. "In addition, with the new changes to House Bill 574, I don't have to buy so much equipment."

The HB574 legislation made some changes to the voting procedures made by Secretary of State Michael Adams during Covid last year, such as the option to use large-scale voting centers and consolidated voting districts. 

Summe also stated that her office plans to publish more information about the new voting system through videos and other advertisements produced with the Northern Kentucky Telecommunications Commission.

"I hope everyone knows about this in advance, so we will educate them," Summe said. "For those who use it, this should eliminate some confusion about the new equipment, as well as how the election works and security." 

In Summe's presentation, election security is a recurring theme. The upgraded ballot collector has two encrypted flash drives, one is used as a backup; countless locks protect these flash drives, the ballot-collecting box, the panel with the ballot box, the collection tray on the top of the machine, and the other is "destroyed". Or the box that "damages the ballot", and the power cord; the last is a digital image scan of each ballot processed by the machine. In addition, there is no voting device connected to the Internet. 

"People must feel that their votes are counted," she said. "We have always had security protocols, but we never named them'risk limit audit' or something similar."

Summe expressed her willingness to contact anyone who wants to learn more about the Kenton County election process, and said that she will take any fraud reports seriously and hand them over to the federal government for thorough investigation. She also communicated transparency, saying that she would be happy to answer any questions or requests for public records so that voters can see the integrity of the Camden County election with their own eyes. 

"If part of the reason we failed was that we didn't educate people to let them know what the system in their county was like, but how the entire election worked, then it's not a good thing," Sam explained, and then outlined some votes. And the more confusing aspects of the election process. "If you understand this process, then when you go to vote, I think you have mastered the knowledge base to really force the calculation of your voting method." 

How the new voting device works:

If voters choose a traditional paper ballot, they only need to fill in the bubble next to their choice and deposit the ballot into the ballot collector. 

If voters choose to use the ExpressVote device, they will receive a thin blank page and put it in the machine to start voting. 

The screen will then display the contests that voters are eligible to participate in.

The machine is accessible to the disabled and allows voters to change the size of the text on the screen for those with poor eyesight, or use a pair of headphones and a selection peripheral with Braille markings to select for the blind.

Much like E-Poll, the ExpressVote machine will not let voters cast their votes by mistake.

Upon completion, voters then view and print their ballots.

Then just deposit it in the same collection box, and it can be aggregated with the rest of the ballots in real time. 

The ExpressVote system uses another set of two encrypted flash drives to record every ballot completed on it, thereby providing an extra layer of security beyond paper.